Texas Haberno Heat

mgstei1 · Fri Jun 09, 2006 1:02 pm

Nothing but babies left in my plastic gourds and range in age from a few days to almost fledging.
What is the HEAT tolerance for Martins here in SouthEast Texas 25 miles south of houston?
The bigger babies are all hanging their heads out with their mouths open.
Is this a valid concern ?

Guest · Fri Jun 09, 2006 1:27 pm

Someone said recently that 88 was the # where you should try to cool their house down . I have been doing that for a week now about 15 minutes every hour all afternoon from say now til 5 or 6. I use a lawn sprinkler as my house is low. if you are high I would just suggest you spray the water in the air and let it fall like rain if you have no other alternatives. hope you get'em cooled down. I also heard that the smaller they are the more they suffer.

dick

Guest · Fri Jun 09, 2006 1:27 pm

Someone said recently that 88 was the # where you should try to cool their house down . I have been doing that for a week now about 15 minutes every hour all afternoon from say now til 5 or 6. I use a lawn sprinkler as my house is low. if you are high I would just suggest you spray the water in the air and let it fall like rain if you have no other alternatives. hope you get'em cooled down. I also heard that the smaller they are the more they suffer.

dick

Mary Dawnsong · Fri Jun 09, 2006 2:02 pm

Hi,

Martins cool themselves just like dogs - they pant. This causes evaporation in mouth and lungs. So, it is the combination of temperature and humidity that causes problems. This means you need to watch the heat index, not just the thermometer.

So why would a Michigan landlord know or care about heat?
In late June - early July of 2002 we had a heat wave in the North right at the peak of nestling season and it lasted over a week. There were many reports of dead martin babies in plastic houses with dark roofs during that time - and they were being reported by landlords in places like New Jersey and Pennsylvania.

It was hot and humid here in Michigan, too. The heat index was going as high as 105 degrees, as I recall. When I checked my plastic gourds, I found that all nestlings had radiated out from the nest cup area and were lying with their tummies flat against the plastic surface of the side of the gourd. Apparently the white plastic was cooler than they were, and they were using it to suck heat out of their body.

I started housing down my gourds when the thermometer reached the upper 90's. Louise Chambers, pmca, posted the following helpful info about heat tolerance in martins:
http://purplemartin.org/forumarchives/a ... atHelp.htm

Since that time I have always warned folks about the risk of housing not painted white. Northerners have a hard time believing that we can lose nestlings to heat, but I believe my colony came within a degree or two of that happening in 2002.

Good luck, Mary

Donna - TX · Fri Jun 09, 2006 2:14 pm

I live in Pearland not to far from you and this is the hottest day yet. My outside temperature guage in the shade says 95. I have been for about 3 weeks now watering my houses down when the temperature reaches 90 or above every 30min to an hour. Today I am doing every 20 to 30 minutes. The babies are hanging their heads out to catch the water, they are suffering in this heat.

Sparky · Fri Jun 09, 2006 4:32 pm

mg,
See my post below for pics of what I've been doing.
http://www.purplemartin.org/forum/viewtopic.php?t=3700

The index is 98F according to the weather service for the Houston area. I have my misters on from 2-6PM everyday since 2 days ago. Next year I plan to install remote data logger temp sensors in the housing to monitor temperature swings.

The following year, full Central A/C for all the martin compartments

I laugh, but I might do it. It's the engineer in me!

I just have to get my concept into final design.
What we landlords will do to protect are valued martins

Guest · Fri Jun 09, 2006 4:38 pm

Ya'll be careful. You cool 'em down too much they might think its turning winter and head south!!

ron20m · Fri Jun 09, 2006 7:41 pm

Wow, completely different for me. I live in Oklahoma and it has been high 90's for weeks. I have not lost a baby in two weeks, and it has been 96-98. A few years ago it got to 103-106. Every baby that could get himself to the door jumped out. I tried to cool them with misters, etc but it was just too hot. I even was following a dove nest and a robin nest and they both died right in the nest.
But I don't even think about it at 88! Even 94. When it is 98 I've been watching closely, but so far no deaths, even in a nest with 6 babies about to fledge, in other words, crowded!
When it busts 100 I plan to add a make shift misting system, but I did not have success with it in the past.

Emil Pampell-Tx · Fri Jun 09, 2006 8:05 pm

The temps here are about like Alvin & Pearland (about 30 miles) and I have had no problem with jumpers. They even hang their heads out but are OK when the mother brings in some bugs..I think they are OK at least to 96 or 98deg, but don't know the exact cutoff. So much depends upon other conditions, like wind and humidity. I think it is impossible to pick a certain temp. I am a bit worried, as it will be the same or worse for several days.

Sparky · Fri Jun 09, 2006 8:46 pm

I've got jumpers like popcorn coming out of the gourds. Good thing I was home this afternoon. They were jumping even with the mister on. There are a lot of stray cats around and I have the water Scare Crow aimed at my pole. So, if a cat get within 180 Degrees of my Scare Crow, it will get a blast of water. Most of the jumpers end up on my back porch singing away. I think they are saying, "let me in it's not fair, you have A/C

Donna - TX · Fri Jun 09, 2006 9:12 pm

Just think Sparky next week they are saying 100 deg.'s and little or no wind with even higher humidity, I guess that is what we get for living on the Gulf Coast. Most of my birds can fledge by Sunday but they are waiting until 30 days or more on the ones that have already fledged. I have 4 nest with young babies and two nest with eggs, those are the ones that I am worried about most. They say the younger they are the more vulnerable to the heat they can be. I will have to put the slush packs or cooler blocks in the two egg nest when they hatch if I have any hope of them surviving. Good Luck with your birds.

mgstei1 · Fri Jun 09, 2006 9:18 pm

Emil is right. We probably have several more days of Hitemp/humidity which means an extremely high index. I did hookup a full circle fixed head sprinkler and wetted em down several times.
They did'nt seem to like it. In the past I have had them dive and seem to be playing in a regular lawn sprinkler so this is an option also.
The adults are occupied with feeding so I believe this all just bothers em.

I would hate to lose just one because they all are so valuble to us.

Mr. Cat has always been a problem here but with the heat he's cooling it and the water sprinkler is a big nono for him. HeHe!!

Seems global warming is becoming a fact.

Guest · Fri Jun 09, 2006 9:51 pm

And just so everyone up north knows--

lol... it's actually Habanero.

Sparky · Fri Jun 09, 2006 11:42 pm

Yikes, I did just see the weather forcast for next week. Best wishes Donna and everybody affected by the heat. This is a little early for heat this intense.
I guess I'm going to have to take next week off to take care of the jumpers. The youngest I have is about 10 days old. I have many that fledged already and some later this week and the week after next. I hope they make it. I may have to build that A/C system this winter for the martins after all.